Guardian Angel
by VanillaLime
Summary: This story takes place during the end of the movie where Raoul finds a rose on Christine's grave. It's not about Raoul though.More like the Phantom. What are his thoughts while placing the rose? What will he do without Christine?


Yay my first fanfic! Hope you like

**Guardian Angel**

A man in black set a rose on a grave. Tied around the rose was a black ribbon and the grave it was set on was the resting grounds of an opera singer. The man looked at her picture, and then at the words inscribed on her tombstone. 'Countess De Chagney,' he read with disgust. Although his face with half covered with a mask, he still showed as much emotion as anyone else, if not more. His name is Erik, but he's also known as the Opera Ghost, or an even more known title, the Phantom of the Opera.

"Oh Christine," Erik said to himself. "How could you do this to me?" he tried to swallow down the knot in his throat. "You leave me for an insolent boy, and after leave me in this horrid world without saying goodbye." He kneeled down to brush off the decaying leaves. "Why?" Painful memories began to dance through his mind. The kiss, the ring, the last look Christine and Erik exchanged to each other before she left for good.

He lifted himself up from his knees and looked up. In front of him stood a white form. Erik remained where he was, baffled with what appeared before his eyes. The white figure slowly began to form a woman. Her face, hair, white dress, everything became clearer. Erik's eyes widened, for he was stunned at what he saw.

She smiled, her head gently tilting to the side. She lifted her arms, as if to embrace him. "It's been so long…so long since I last saw you." She was the same as before with her wide eyes, warm smile, and her brown curls cascading down her shoulders.

"No," Erik whispered. He put his head down, hiding his red face. "This can't be." He began to cry, for he now faced the sad truth he was unable to cope with. Yes, he saw the grave stone, but the hard reality never hit him before now. "Christine can't be here. She's gone," he sobbed, shaking his head. "And she's never coming back. She's dead."

"Oh, poor Erik." The figure said.

"No, you're not Christine, you can't be." Erik kept his head down. He was caught in the depths of despair. "You just can't be her. Be gone!"

The smile disappeared on the figure's face. Sorrow flooded her soul.

"Angel of music…"

Erik became silent.

"My protector…"

Slowly, he lifted his head.

"Come to me, strange angel."

He now faced the young woman, and both he and she met each other's eyes. "Chri…Christine." Erik was fighting back his tears. "It really is you."

Christine's smile returned. "So many have years past since I left you."

Hearing this, Erik was filled with hope. He thought, 'Maybe this time Christine will stay with me, the one she really loves.' He forgot that there was a line separating two of their worlds. One of matter and life, the other with souls that aren't locked in a body. For this moment, Erik has gone back to the days where Christine was apart of his world, where she could've been part of his future.

"I left you, but I never really said goodbye."

Then once again reality came crashing down on Erik. Christine wasn't there to stay with him, she was there to leave him again.

Christine could see the happiness draining from Erik's face. She recalled the days when she tore off his mask to reveal his secret; the horrid death head he bore which made him believe that he had to hide himself from the human race. As Christine saw once again his unmasked face, she no longer feared it. He looked at her with such pain in his eyes she regretted what she had done to him. She longed to say sorry to him, wishing she could turn back time. Christine became solemn. "All these years, I had this guilt caged inside of me. I kept thinking of you." She held her head down. "Of how much hurt I brought you. I just wish I could've relieved that pain, but my heart went a different direction."

Erik could feel the rage boiling inside of him. Every time he thought of Raoul he grew flustered. How he wished he could've killed Raoul down in his lair. But if Erik did that, all the love that Christine had for him wouldn't exist, and she wouldn't be standing right before him at this moment.

"Erik," Christine said as she lifted her head. "I cannot be at peace with myself without leaving with you these words." Tears started to roll down her face. "Goodbye." She started to back away slowly.

"No, Christine!" Erik reached out for Christine's hand, but as he tried to grab it, his hand went right through her. She really was a ghost. Oh how he longed so much to hold her hand once again, to feel the warmth of the flesh, to slide his fingers through her glossy hair. "Don't leave me." He outstretched his arms, as if to hold on to her. Christine kept backing away, her hurt expression unchanging. Erik's eyes painfully looked into hers. "Don't leave me alone again…"

Christine felt as if a stake went through her heart. 'This must be how Erik feels.' Flashbacks came through her mind.

She placed the diamond ring in Erik's hand. At that moment he knew he really had lost the battle. He kept his eyes on the ring, tears flowing down his checks. Christine got on the boat with Raoul, and they rowed away. She glanced back at Erik, savoring her last look. She saw him walking toward them, saying something she could not catch.

The way he looked that night was exactly how he looked now. He was kneeling down; his eyes glossed over with tears. He watched silently as Christine backed away. Now Christine had tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry Erik," she whispered to herself. "I will never forget you."

Erik looked at her for one last time. He could see her lips moving, as if she was saying something. Slowly, she became whiter, and a bright light overtook Erik's eyes. Christine's figure was no more. It was lost in the wind.

Erik put his head down. He stood there, trapped in his mind. Only was his train of thought broken when he heard the crumbling of decaying leaves. Someone was coming. Quickly, Erik took out the diamond ring Christine had given him before she left. He slid his fingers along the diamond's surface. 'My most precious keepsake would never compare to you, Christine. I would've given you everything you ever wanted, if only you'd given me the chance.' He put the ring around the rose. The footsteps became louder. Erik slid behind Christine's gravestone, and after behind another gravestone. He carefully popped his head out to see who was coming.

To his regrets he found old Raoul, holding his monkey music box. Erik was already aware that his music box was in Raoul's hands. After all, Erik had watched part of the auction held at the Paris Opera House earlier that morning.

Along with Raoul was a nurse, who carted Raoul around in his wheelchair. His old face was solemn as he went up to the grave. Carefully, he placed the monkey music box in front of Christine's tombstone. Raoul paused for a moment. He was about to leave until he spotted Erik's rose with the ring. Raoul's eyes widened as if he'd seen a ghost.

Erik smiled to himself. 'Surprised to still see me alive? Well Raoul, I still am, and I'm not even half as decrepit as you.' After this thought Erik slipped out of the graveyard and into the woods.

Flashbacks of Christine's ghost kept going through Erik's mind. His heart was heavy as he remembered Christine's face right before she disappeared. Her cheeks were moist from tears, and her lips were moving, but no sound that Erik could hear came out. "Oh Christine, what am I supposed to do now?" He fell to the ground, his knees and hands sinking into the pile of leaves. "I don't think I can go on any longer…" He stayed there on the ground, silent and still. He felt weaker as time ticked on. "There are no more reasons to carry on in this life…" Erik truly had lost all hope.

Suddenly he heard a voice from the distance.

"Past the point of no return…"

'Could it be Christine?'

The voice continued. "The final threshold…"

'No…' Erik got up, following the melodic voice. 'It's not my Christine.' He leaned against a tree, motionless, listening to the music.

"The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn!"

'But somehow that voice seems so familiar.' He made his way to a large stream, and by it was a boulder where the chanting woman sat. She had her back facing Erik, who was behind a large oak tree. A swift breeze blew by, which left the woman's golden locks astray.

Erik suddenly felt warm and safe inside. He came out from behind the tree and as he did the young woman slowly turned towards his direction. Erik could feel her eyes on him.

"We've past the point of no return…"

Erik was stunned that the maiden had caught him in the act of spying on her.

The woman stood up, her white dress trailing beyond her feet. "Come here, Erik."

'How,' thought Erik, 'how does she know my name? So few people know it.' He looked at the woman's features. Her skin was smooth and white and she had rosy lips. Her hair was of a golden blond, but unlike Christine's it was straight and cascaded down to her elbows. Blue was the color of her eyes, but instead of them looking cold, they shone like the clear sky.

Flashbacks of old memories passed through Erik's mind. Memories of the lady. "I know you…"

The maiden smiled.

"You have appeared to me many times…many times in my dreams. When I was little you were the only one that kept me company while I slept. And you sang to me…you sang to me such beautiful songs." Erik paused at that moment, trying to remember the last dream she came to him in. "But you stopped appearing when I fell in love with Christine."

Her face beamed. She lifted out her hands, signaling Erik to come to her. Cautiously Erik came closer. She touched his face. It had been so long since he had felt another's hands besides his own. He did not back away from her, but instead let her continue this motion. He felt her hands get closer to the mask, but he could not draw back, for it was too late. She pulled off his mask.

"How dare you!" He shouted, more embarrassed than angry. He covered the right side of his face with his hand. This was the third time he let this to happen.

To his surprise the woman still smiled. She stepped off the boulder and up to Erik. She grasped her hand onto Erik's and pulled it away from his disfigurement.

"No, you mustn't look!" He quickly turned his head away from her.

"Don't be afraid…" Her voice was soothing.

Erik slowly faced her, revealing the death head he bore. He refused to make eye contact with her. He felt her hand touch his cheek. No, it wasn't the good side of his face she was touching; it was the side where his disfigurement lay. She was touching his dead flesh! Bewildered, Erik gazed up at her, expecting to see her face in disgust. But instead of a repulsed look on her face, her face still held a warm smile.

Erik had never felt such kindness before. No one, not even Christine, was ever unafraid of his horrid complexion. He could feel hot tears swell up in his eyes, but he held it in.

The maiden put her arms around him. "Close your eyes, dear Erik."

Erik debated this in his mind. 'Is she going to trick me? No, she wouldn't do that.' He closed his eyes.

Suddenly he felt as though a strong wind had hit him and whisked him into the air. He could feel his heart beating faster.

"Open your eyes Erik!"

He obeyed. Below him was the world. Everything looked like ants to him. The trees, rivers, buildings, everything was smaller. He could see the shimmering ocean and even depicted Paris and the Opera House in which he lived in for so many years. Erik was soaring.

He noticed the arms that embraced him and looked up. The beautiful maiden was still with him, her elegant dove wings gliding through the horizon. She was flying towards the sun, which was sinking beneath the mountains, ready to rest. Joy started to engulf Erik's soul, a feeling that he had long forgotten. A bright light flooded his eyes.

"I am free," he whispered. "I am free at last."

That's the end folks! Hope the ending wasn't too corny. But isn't it nice to think that Erik had an angel of Music in his dreams? (;)

Next I wanna make a humor phic with Christine, Raoul, and Erik going on a trip. Hope I can pull it off. Wish me luck!


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